Death to the Feeble Masses

Receiving the Evcharist is our weekly feature where we pair choice albums with our favorite libations. Drink from the cup of heresy. This week’s offering: Carpe Noctem’s Vitrun and Three Weavers Brewing Company’s Blood Junkie.

The Metal: Carpe Noctem’s Vitrun

It’s been a while since we had a good scene report from Iceland’s black metal cabal, but Carpe Noctem are back to remind us that things are still as chaotic, unsettling, and awesome as ever. Vitrun is this outfit’s first full-length album in five years, and their efforts here show that they are every bit as capable of crafting the same singular darkness as their compatriots. Filled to the brim with dizzying whammy bar acrobatics, ringing dissonance, and the snarling menace that defines Icelandic black metal, Vitrun is an intense listen, one that sucks you into the band’s vision of uncompromising darkness. Having been a fan of the band’s first album, it is extremely pleasing to me to see the band not only return from silence, but to see them back better than ever.

The Booze: Three Weavers Brewing Company’s Blood Junkie

The city of Inglewood, CA is mostly known for the Forum concert venue, and as the future home of the Los Angeles Rams’ stadium (whenever they get around to building it anyway), but to me, it is always associated with Prosthetic Records. The label has long been a source for great metal for me, but in the last few years, carried by the strength of releases from Wildspeaker, Dawn Ray’d, and Venom Prison, they have become one of the more exciting labels for me to watch. How fortunate for me, then, that it turns out Prosthetic also loves a good beer, and partnered with fellow Inglewood residents Three Weavers (welcome back friends!) to create something absolutely perfect for this column. With a name like Blood Junkie you certainly wouldn’t expect something that pulls its punches, and this brew certainly doesn’t. An intense red ale, Blood Junkie is heavy on the malts, creating a deep, bold flavor that is rich and nutty, but with a big kick of hops in the finish that imparts a bitterness and necessary dryness to the beer. Red ales tend to be a little cloying for me, so the decent amount of hops in this is actually a blessing, and helps keep Blood Junkie from being a one-note kind of beer. I’ve been trying to get my hands on this for a while now, and it definitely did not disappoint.

Like Freddie Mercury said, another one bites the dust. I’ll be back next Friday with more of the same good stuff. Until then,